The scene with the huge guns is the stand-out, of course, but there's plenty of good minor stuff along the way, where encounters between Dredd and various bad guys are well directed and choreographed. DREDD's grim, claustrophobic setting is a strong one (bringing to mind the likes of '80s nihilist cinema like TENEMENT and DEATH WISH 3) and the action never lets up from start to finish. They cater to different markets, and both are equally good. However, I think there's space for both of them in the market DREDD is an unashamed shoot-em-up while THE RAID is an unashamed martial arts movie.
Many reviewers have commented on the movie's similarity in plot to the Indonesian action epic THE RAID, and it's clear the two films share plenty. I did like him though, and enjoyed his totalitarian attitude towards keeping crime off the streets. The helmet serves to distance the viewer from warming to the character, but then that's the point. Thus he's reduced to acting via his chin and gravely voice, and the surprise is that it works, to a degree. Karl Urban, long since a favourite of mine (since his excellent turn as the Russian assassin in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) headlines as Dredd, never taking his helmet off throughout the film. This one's a lot more gutsy and compelling, thanks to the lean script and emphasis throughout on bloody action and adult entertainment. DREDD is the second adaptation of the cult comic book series Judge Dredd, following on from a poorly-received Stallone flick in the '90s (for the record, I thought that version was passable but weak in places, as is the case with a lot of mid-'90s cinema).
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